St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-11
Tastes Of the President and
His Wife in the Matter
of Cooking.
Mrs. CleVeland'S BOudOir and
Her Array of Pet
Animals.
Rural Pleasures and Tranquil
Ways Of Living at
Oak View.


models of domesticty. Whether at the
White House or out at their country
home, Oak View, they live very much as
well-to-do people would anywhere.
The White House family during the
sessions of Congress, when society re-
quires the presence of Mrs Cleveland in
the White House, consists simply of the
President and his wife, save now and
then, when Mrs. Folsom spends a few
days with her daughter. There are
thirty servants, clerks and public func-
tionarieS in the great mansion, but the
family consists of but two. Half of the
people in the White House are the clerks,
doorkeepers and attendants necessary for
the transaction of executive business.
The rest are cooks, gardeners, messengers,
cOachmen and hostlers Mrs Cleveland
is not expected to manage any of these
servants nor is she required TO give di-
rectionS from day to day about the house
hold work. There is q steward who re-
celveS 81 800 a year to run the house
hold very much as he would hotel Mr..
Cleveland's steward is his old body-ser-
want Sinclair, whom he took to Albany
when he was elected governor and
brought to Washington when he was in
augurated. Sinclair is responsible for the
daily bill of fare. He has come to know
just what the President and his wife like,
and the duties are simple and matter-of-
fact. He does all the buying and makes
up every breakfast, dinner and luncheon.
so that the French chef Farrin knows
exactly what to do. Sinclair goes to the
Centre Market every morning early and
makes his selections, seldom buying
of the same butcher or vegetable truck
man more than week consecutively
For the President there has never been
The slightest trouble in making purchases
of food. He wants beef in some form at
least once day the year round, and he
would prefer usually thick, juicy cut
well broiled. If there must be variety,
he thinks thick tender mutton chop the
next best thing after broiled steak. Fancy
dishes he abominates, but pie he dotes
on. His favorite is pumpkin, but apple
pie is standby that never fails to please
him, if it is just a little tart and the
apple is plenty and juicy. Mrs.
Cleveland likes what her husband
likes,so there is no great trouble on
her score; but she does like a great
many other things of daintier kind.
She is extremely fond of salads and
French soups. The scene when Mr.. and
Mrs. Cleveland are seated yis-a-vis at
their large mahogany table in the White
House is an interesting one. Mr.. Cleve-
land bends closely to his plate and eats
with zest that would be expected only
IN man who digs or pounds at some
heavy manual labor. She sits opposite
as airy and dainty as a queen of fairies.
She presides as gracefully with her hus-
band alone as if she were under the gaze
of thousands. This is the secret of Mrs.
Cleveland's popularity. She is every
where the natural, well-poised, gracious
and sweet-hearted American girl of the
best type.
Mrs. Cleveland's boudoir is cosy little
room adjoining the Presidents chamber.
and occupies the northwest corner of the
second floor. 1t is the room which has
hitherto been used by Presidents and their
wives as dressing-room. Two of its win
dows look out to the west upon the State.
War and Navy building, across the white
eXpanse of glass in the Conservatives,
and one window looks out to the north
toward Lafayette Square and the Corcoran
Art Gallery. The private corridor upon
which the Presidents bedroom and
Mrs. Clevelands boudoir open is
shut Oft from the corridor, which is open
TO the public on state occasions. Here
hangs fine portrait of Mrs. John TYLER,
who was once fair young mistress of the
White House. Across the corridor, facing
the Presidents bedroom, is the historic
chamber in which President Garfield Law
suffering so many hours from the assas
SINS bullet. Mrs. Cleveland has fitted up
her boudoir with odds and ends of pretty
furniture which she found in the attic or
purchasedin New York. The room is too
small for piano and there is none in it ::
besides, she coufesses freely that she is not
particularly musical in her tastes. There
she has her writing-desk, a wash-stand. a
sofa, table or two, and some luxuriouslv
cushioned chairs. About the walls hang
bric-a-brac and paintings, many of which
were gifts to her. This is the room in which
Mrs. Cleveland does her writing. replyInp
to all sorts of correspondence. from the
capitalized letters of children in the far
west to the notification of some fond
parent that his wife has had triplets, the
request OF schoolgirl in New England
Tor her autograph, or the scraggly letter
OF a horny-handed farmer in Michigan,
VINO wishes to make the lady of the
White House a present of afine barrel of
apples. Mrs. Cleveland does not pretend
to do all the writing which her position
calls for, and now and then she is per
united to call upon Mr.. Henley, the Pres
ident's official stenographer, for assist
ance. Mr.. Henley is a tall
handsome young fellow, very
much liked by ali the girls. His "a
penmanship is elegant be- III
yond all comparison. The nm
finest engraving cannot equal %AgyNa
it. Mrs. Cleveland is a great SsNYHM
admirer of Mr.. Henley's writ NIsLfikk4SE
ing. She herself fhsslNEs
writes in that NJ
full, flowing NTlS<3
schoolgirl style, III lAR1lss3
in letters some Al 1NSayEA
what large and - .=T=EETTTi III
bold, that is now I.IIIHHiIHa II Ha
the fashionable aus :. 800
thing in ladies' (.,t~nA k\
penmanship. Wy $EsiiEM( II
Mrs. Cleveland 76.saff4sM8EH (
is not particular s!sz18MAN8M =
ly fond of pets, GSTs1a as$4S8 LIS
hut hy force of 1ASs3es65kf4zkEll y.